The NBA is coming to the BBC, the national broadcaster has announced and will show the NBA Paris Game this week plus four regular season games, one Conference Finals game and an NBA finals game.
The BBC’s first NBA game will be the 2023 Paris Game on Thursday between the Detroit Pistons and Chicago Bulls which tips-off at 8pm at the AccorHotels Arena in the French capital.
Four regular season games will also be shown for free in the UK, alongside a Conference Finals and NBA Finals game to complete a nine-game deal with the league.
𝗡𝗕𝗔 𝗜𝗦 𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗧𝗢 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗕𝗕𝗖 🏀
The BBC will show the NBA Paris Game 2023 between Chicago Bulls and Detroit Pistons on Thursday at 8pm on @BBCThree!
Plus four regular season games, two Playoff games, one Conference Finals game and one NBA Finals game.#BBCNBA pic.twitter.com/jhVLcpkqaX
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) January 18, 2023
BBC joins Sky Sports with NBA coverage in the UK
The NBA’s main broadcaster in the UK is subscription-based service Sky Sports which shows 135 regular season games during the season and covers NBA All-Star weekend, playoffs, Conference Finals and Finals.
Sky has been the NBA’s home in the UK since the 2018/19 season when they took over from rival BT Sport and show one primetime evening fixture every Saturday and Sunday.
The BBC is free to all in the UK and accessible for anyone with a TV license, with this deal expected to be a huge leap for basketball and its exposure in the region.
The NBA London Games took place from 2011 to 2019 before the league decided to relocate Europe’s game to Paris as France begins to increase its influence on the sport.
French players such as Nicolas Batum, Rudy Gobert, Evan Fournier and Killian Hayes have certainly increased basketball’s popularity in the country, but none more so than the projected number one overall pick in this year’s draft – Victor Wembanyana.
The 19-year-old from Le Chesnay, western Paris, is widely considered one of the greatest draft prospects of all time and currently plays for professional basketball side Metropolitans 92 of the LNB Pro A.
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